2009 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year Sara Strickland and the Crusaders kick off the 2010 season in just over two weeks. (Ray Acevedo)

Crusaders Tabbed Sixth in Preseason Poll

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Valparaiso
University softball team
has been picked to finish in sixth place in the Horizon League standings for
the 2010 season in preseason polling by the league’s head coaches.

Head coach Randy
Schneider returns 14 letterwinners from his 2009 squad, nine of
whom hit at least .284 last year, which finished third nationally with 2.67
stolen bases/game and 14th nationally with a .312 team batting
average. In addition, Schneider has
brought in five newcomers for the 2010 campaign.

Valparaiso
received 37 points in the polling, which awarded eight points for a first-place
vote. Cleveland State was tabbed as the preseason favorite with seven
first-place votes and 63 points, while UIC and
Wright State each picked up a first-place vote en route to 57 and 46 points,
respectively. Butler and Loyola tied for
fourth, edging out the Crusaders with 38 points apiece, while Green
Bay (22), Youngstown State (15) and Detroit
(8) rounded out the polling.

The Crusaders kick
off the 2010 campaign on Saturday, February 13 at the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic,
playing four games over their two days at the tournament.